'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies' trailer previews war

SAN DIEGO, July 28 (UPI) --The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies has released its first trailer.

Warner Bros. previewed the trailer Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con, and released it to the public Monday. The video previews the eponymous battle that will bring the trilogy of movies to a close. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey premiered in 2012, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug followed in 2013.

In the J.R.R. Tolkien book, the Battle of the Five Armies takes place on and near the Lonely Mountain. The Desolation of Smaug ended with an angry Smaug leaving his lair in the mountain and flying toward the village at Long Lake. The battle is fought between the Goblins and Wargs of Moria, Gundabad and the Misty Mountains against the Men of the Long Lake, the Elves of Mirkwood, the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and the great Eagles of the Misty Mountains.

Martin Freeman reprises his role as Bilbo Baggins, with Ian McKellen as the wizard Gandalf, Richard Armitage as dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield, Evangeline Lilly as the elf Tauriel, Orlando Bloom as Legolas, Luke Evans as Bard and Benedict Cumberbatch as the voice of Smaug and the Necromancer.

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies is scheduled for release December 17.

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